9. doing your own landscaping is good for your soul

I hand-dug my flowerbeds out of clay and stones, bought truckloads of cheap manure from a local farmer, and started perennials by seed. All this while working and being a mom. Of course, it took seven years to actually achieve the garden I wanted, but I built up muscles and could look at those roses with pride.

Years later, I moved into a house with a yard that's already been totally landscaped and I wish I had some bare earth to work with.